Hip-hop Takes a Victory Lap

文/G. M. 奧斯丁 譯/王一宇

South by Southwest11每年在美國(guó)得克薩斯州首府奧斯汀市舉辦的電影、交互式多媒體和音樂(lè)藝術(shù)節(jié)，始于1987年。(SXSW) may lure more than 250,000 people to Austin each year to learn about and experience technology, film and video gaming, but music has always been the festival’s raison d’être2raison d’être〈法語(yǔ)〉存在的原因。.

[2] Though indie rock has long prevailed, this year it was hip-hop that dominated both the conference rooms and the music venues. There was training and tutelage3tutelage指導(dǎo)；輔導(dǎo)。: young aspiring rappers participated in freestyle rap meetups and lined up to get career advice from celebrated managers. Newer artists looked at how the genre is evolving; experienced practitioners performed and contemplated how far it had come.

[3] This was partly prompted by the release of Nielsen’s year-end report on American listening habits in 2017. For the first time, hip-hop surpassed rock as the most popular variety, accounting for seven of the ten most-consumed albums. As listenership has grown—in large thanks to streaming services—so has the pool of talent.

西南偏南文化節(jié)或許可以每年吸引超過(guò)25萬(wàn)人去奧斯汀了解和體驗(yàn)科技、電影、電子游戲，但是音樂(lè)才始終是西南偏南文化節(jié)存在的原因。

[2]盡管獨(dú)立搖滾盛行已久，但今年，占據(jù)會(huì)議室和音樂(lè)舞臺(tái)重要位置的卻是嘻哈。嘻哈產(chǎn)業(yè)有訓(xùn)練和指導(dǎo)機(jī)制：胸懷抱負(fù)的年輕說(shuō)唱歌手們參與即興說(shuō)唱聚會(huì)，并一一得到知名經(jīng)理人的職業(yè)建議。嘻哈新秀們揣摩這一藝術(shù)類型演化的未來(lái)走向，經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的習(xí)藝者們則展示并思索嘻哈過(guò)往的發(fā)展歷程。

[3]尼爾森發(fā)布的2017年美國(guó)音頻用戶研究年終報(bào)告起了一定的推動(dòng)作用。報(bào)告顯示，嘻哈首次超越搖滾，成為最受歡迎的音樂(lè)形式，在十張最熱銷專輯中占據(jù)七席。隨著嘻哈聽眾數(shù)量增加（一定程度上得益于流媒體服務(wù)的發(fā)展），嘻哈人才數(shù)量也在增加。

[4] Hip-hop sub-genres have popped up on platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube, providing a huge volume of music.

[5] But SXSW was also amplifying conversations about legacy that have been going on in the hip-hop community for some time. “All Eyez on Me”,a recent biopic of Tupac Shakur, was criticised for failing to capture the mythology of the man, and dismissed as“rarely more than a faithful adaptation of [his] Wikipedia entry”. Documentaries abound about his murder in 1996.

[6] When young rappers such as Lil Xan4原名邁爾斯·帕克斯·麥科勒姆（Miles Parks McCollum），美國(guó)說(shuō)唱歌手。and Lil Yachty5美國(guó)說(shuō)唱歌手，出生于加利福尼亞州。have criticised artists such as Shakur and Notorious B.I,G. as “boring” and “overrated”, the comments have been met with outrage.Long-time followers such as P. Frank Williams, an Emmy Award-winning producer and writer, stated that hip-hop cannot move forward without appreciating its past.

[7] Young rappers don’t always agree.In 2016, Lil Yachty asked: “If I’m doing this my way and making all this money,why should I do it how everybody says it’s supposed to be done?”

[4]嘻哈的子類型接連不斷地出現(xiàn)在SoundCloud和YouTube等平臺(tái)上，涌現(xiàn)出大量的音樂(lè)作品。

[5]但“西南偏南”也在加強(qiáng)關(guān)于音樂(lè)遺產(chǎn)的討論力度，而這些討論已在嘻哈社群中持續(xù)了一段時(shí)間。最近上映的圖派克·夏庫(kù)爾自傳電影《萬(wàn)眾矚目》被批評(píng)未能展現(xiàn)他的“未知生活”，還被貶損為“只是他維基百科個(gè)人條目的忠實(shí)改編”。關(guān)于1996年夏庫(kù)爾謀殺案的文件數(shù)不勝數(shù)。

[6]當(dāng)Lil Xan、Lil Yachty等年輕說(shuō)唱歌手批評(píng)夏庫(kù)爾、聲名狼藉先生等從藝者“無(wú)聊”且“過(guò)譽(yù)”時(shí)，許多人對(duì)這樣的評(píng)論感到憤怒。嘻哈樂(lè)鐵粉，包括艾美獎(jiǎng)得主、制作人和編劇的P.弗蘭克·威廉姆斯，曾表示，如果年輕歌手不尊重歷史，嘻哈無(wú)法繼續(xù)前進(jìn)。

[7]年輕說(shuō)唱歌手們則不盡同意。2016年，Lil Yachty問(wèn)道：“如果我用自己的方式唱歌并掙了這么多錢，為什么還要按照別人所說(shuō)的方式去做？”

[8] Skyy Hook, a radio presenter, was inspired by these public critiques to host a panel about Shakur’s legacy at SXSW.Rappers Money B6龍·布魯克斯（Ron Brooks）的藝名。, E.D.I. Mean7馬爾科姆·格里尼奇（Malcolm Greenidge）的藝名。and other panellists unanimously agreed that Shakur is one of the most talented rappers in the hip-hop canon, and that young performers need to appreciate the history of the music if they are to innovate.

[9] Other hip-hop creators told humorous and heartfelt stories about a life spent in pursuit of freedom, fame or wealth. Forbes interviewed U-God,a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, about the hip-hop collective’s rise to fame in the 1990s. Theodore Livingston—aka“Grand Wizzard Theodore”, a DJ—explained to the crowd that his mother is largely responsible for the invention of “scratching” and the needle drop,two techniques central to hip-hop music. Mr Livingston, 55, stated that his mother barged into his bedroom in 1975 to tell him to turn down his music, so he stopped the record from spinning on a turntable with his hand and moved it gently back and forth. (Some still find the story implausible.)

[8]受到這些公眾批評(píng)的觸動(dòng)，電臺(tái)主持人斯凱·胡克在“西南偏南”主持了關(guān)于夏庫(kù)爾音樂(lè)遺產(chǎn)的圓桌會(huì)議，Money B和E. D. I. Mean等嘻哈歌手和其他與會(huì)成員一致認(rèn)為夏庫(kù)爾是經(jīng)典嘻哈樂(lè)中最有才華的歌手之一，年輕歌手們?nèi)粝雱?chuàng)新，需要尊重嘻哈樂(lè)歷史。

[9]其他嘻哈創(chuàng)作者則講述了他們畢生追求自由、名聲或財(cái)富之旅中詼諧而動(dòng)人的故事：《福布斯》曾采訪美國(guó)嘻哈樂(lè)隊(duì)“武當(dāng)派”成員U-God，討論20世紀(jì)90年代嘻哈歌手的集體崛起。昵稱“大巫師西奧多”的嘻哈音樂(lè)人、55歲的西奧多·利文斯頓曾向公眾說(shuō)明，嘻哈樂(lè)兩項(xiàng)重要的技術(shù)，即“刮擦”唱片和“唱針落下”，很大程度是受他母親啟發(fā)而發(fā)明的——在1975年，他母親曾沖入他的臥室，并要求他調(diào)低音樂(lè)聲，于是他用手緩緩地在旋轉(zhuǎn)唱盤上來(lái)回刮擦，使唱片最終停下。（不過(guò)至今仍有人不相信這個(gè)故事。）

[10] In tandem with8in tandem with并駕齊驅(qū)；同時(shí)實(shí)行。this introspection, there is a growing sense that hiphop is a subject worthy of serious study and reflection. Harvard University established the Hiphop Archive and Research Institute 16 years ago. In November, Stanford hosted a symposium dedicated to discussing the “l(fā)iberatory possibilities” of hip-hop pedagogy in classrooms. Last month, the Oakland Museum of California opened “Respect:Hip Hop Style and Wisdom”, an exhibit that uses photography, video, art, music,dance and fashion to explore the genre’s cultural and social significance. The crowning jewel will be the Universal Hip-Hop Museum, scheduled to open its doors in 2022 in a 60,000 squarefoot facility in the Bronx, where hiphop originated. It will feature archives,exhibits, interactive displays, performances, film screenings and classes aimed at showing, explaining and discussing hip-hop culture.

[11] The conversation, at SXSW and elsewhere, is about more than nostalgia. History has always been a huge component of hip-hop: “knowledge” is considered the fifth of five “pillars” of the culture (the others are graf fiti, MC-ing, Bboying, and DJing). It has, from its inception, been a platform for black Americans and minority ethnic communities to give voice to their experiences of injustice. Shakur’s politicised, urgent lyrics often made reference to the Black Panthers, of which his parents were members, and the need to break free of oppressive governments and hypocritical notions of the American Dream.

[10]伴隨著嘻哈音樂(lè)人的自我反省，越來(lái)越多的人認(rèn)識(shí)到嘻哈樂(lè)是值得研究和反思的對(duì)象：16年前，哈佛大學(xué)建立了嘻哈檔案和研究所；2017年11月，斯坦福大學(xué)召開研討會(huì)討論嘻哈教學(xué)法進(jìn)入課堂的“開放可能性”；2018年3月，加州奧克蘭博物館舉辦了“尊重：嘻哈風(fēng)格和智慧”展覽會(huì)，運(yùn)用攝影、錄像、美術(shù)、音樂(lè)、舞蹈和時(shí)尚來(lái)探索這種曲風(fēng)在文化和社會(huì)方面的重要性；計(jì)劃于2022年開館的國(guó)際嘻哈博物館最值得一提，該館在嘻哈發(fā)源地布朗克斯區(qū)占地6萬(wàn)平方英尺，它將主要通過(guò)檔案、展覽、交互式顯示屏、演出、電影、課堂教學(xué)這些博覽形式，展示、闡釋并討論嘻哈文化。

[11]無(wú)論是“西南偏南”還是其他各地關(guān)于嘻哈的討論都不僅僅是為了懷舊。歷史一直是嘻哈極其重要的組成部分，“知識(shí)”被看作是嘻哈文化第五大“支柱”（其他四個(gè)支柱是涂鴉、說(shuō)唱、街舞、打碟）。從一開始，它就一直是非裔美國(guó)人和其他少數(shù)族群表達(dá)他們所經(jīng)歷不公的平臺(tái)。夏庫(kù)爾帶有急切政治主張的歌詞中常常提及黑豹黨的觀點(diǎn)（其父母便是黑豹黨成員），呼吁要掙脫暴虐政府的枷鎖和打破虛偽的“美國(guó)夢(mèng)”概念。

[12] As race relations have worsened in recent years, consumption of hiphop has increased. “Alright”, Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-nominated song,became a sort of de facto9de facto〈拉丁語(yǔ)〉事實(shí)上的。anthem for the Black Lives Matter10“黑人生命值得尊重”運(yùn)動(dòng)，由非裔美國(guó)人最先發(fā)起，反對(duì)針對(duì)黑人的暴力和歧視，與“所有生命值得尊重”（All Lives Matter）運(yùn)動(dòng)相對(duì)。movement,and Jay-Z’s Grammy-nominated album“4:44” explored racism and the black experience.

[13] Modern hip-hop musicians,whatever they think of their predecessors’ musical contributions, are similarly engaged in protest and speaking truth to power: the lyrics of early tracks still resonate. Regardless of how it innovates and changes, that will be hip-hop’s legacy. ■

[12]近年來(lái)，隨著美國(guó)種族問(wèn)題的惡化，嘻哈樂(lè)越來(lái)越多地進(jìn)入公眾視野。肯德里克·拉馬爾的格萊美最佳說(shuō)唱歌曲提名作品《一切安好》某種程度上成為了“黑人生命值得尊重”運(yùn)動(dòng)實(shí)際意義上的主題曲；Jay-Z的格萊美最佳專輯提名作品《4：44》探究了美國(guó)的種族主義和非裔美國(guó)人的遭遇。

[13]無(wú)論當(dāng)代嘻哈音樂(lè)人如何看待前輩的音樂(lè)貢獻(xiàn)，他們?cè)谙驈?qiáng)權(quán)抗議、為真理發(fā)聲的立場(chǎng)是相似的：他們的歌詞都呼應(yīng)了早期嘻哈樂(lè)的精神。無(wú)論嘻哈樂(lè)如何創(chuàng)新和變化，這都終將成為嘻哈樂(lè)的寶貴財(cái)富。 □